Weekly song, hymn and recorded music suggestions and resources for worship - based on the Revised Common Lectionary. Suggestions are posted on Wednesday nights, usually a few weeks in advance of each Sunday.

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Monday, November 10, 2008

For anyone being baptised:
StJ / URW187 Water has held us
(Postlethwaite) Good words based on the use of water in baptism, and
images of water in creation, parting of the sea, washing and baptism,
sung to the familiar tune BUNESSAN (Morning has broken). Highly
recommended. Lyrics.
AoV1-074Come To The Water (Andersen) I love the words to this, suitable for infant, child or adult baptism. Lyrics (scroll down to the comments page)
AoV1-158Create a new heart Holy Lord / A new heart for a new world (O'Brien/Watts) Very simple melody, Good words. Also appropriate for confirmation.
AoV1-034 Create in me O Lord a heart that is pure / I'll Sing Your Song (Marshall) Good honest song. Simple to sing.
TiS 493 / UMH605 / VU442 / WoV697 / ELW445 / GtG490 / CP035 / Cha365 / ZSS191 Wash O God our sons and daughters / Wash us God your sons and daughters (Duck) A good hymn for the congregation to sing before or after a baptism. Sung to the familiar tune BEACH SPRING.AoV1-005Deep within my heart I feel / Galilee Song (Andersen) This one is quite nice. Chorus has this jubilant "So I leave my boats behind!" part.
ATW 432Girl or boy big or small (Holmes) This would be good for a kids' song anytime we have a baptism. It will help them understand what’s going on.
AoV2-085 / MV115Behold, behold, I Make All Things New, beginning
with you and starting from today. A lovely energetic chant from John
Bell. Would be great if your congregation gets to know the parts.
MV 157I am a child of God, I am a glimpse of God’s new creation (Harding) This is a really lovely song, and very easy to learn. Probably just the first verse is good for a baptism.Recorded music: Forever Young This song from Bob Dylan is a really beautiful blessing. Lyrics and a video of Joan Baez.
MV190 Laughter lit the stars of morning (Pedersen) Lovely lyrics and a simple waltz melody. Has lyrics for both infant and adult baptism or renewal of baptismal vows.
*URW106 Here at Jordan's river
(Duck) baptism; jordan Sung to NOEL NOUVELET, this challenging song is
just perfect for our congregation. I really love this. Great for Baptism
of Christ or any baptism.
*MV135 Called by earth and sky
(Mayberry) Gentle song about the blessings of water, air, soil and
fire. While it doesn't explicitly mention baptism, it is really
beautiful and would work well.*MV117 By the well a thirsty woman
(Stilborn) This is not specifically a baptism song, but it has lovely water imagery, and would work well on a baptism day. The tune will probably need
to be taught.ATOK 316 From the air and from the light (Mann)

For children and infants:
AoV2-144We Welcome This Child (Kearney) "We welcome you, child, to our beautiful world, we give you the earth and the sea and the sky. We give you the sun and the moon and the stars. We welcome you, child, to the heart of our world." Lyrics (downloads a Word document)AoV2-116 / CH633 / UMH611 / VU444 / AA11Child Of Blessing Child Of Promise (Cole-Turner Witt) Excellent words to a familiar hymn tune. Lyrics.
ATAR590 A child is born (Newton) Uplifting new words for a baptism, sung to the tune JERUSALEM. I am not a fan of the tune; the words would fit well to other standard hymn tunes as well if you would like to use them.ATAR603 Warmly he embraced them / More than a sign
(Mann) A good song of welcoming children; particularly appropriate for
a day when there is a baptism.
AoV2-125 / ATA 132Lift this child to the sun (Anna's song) (Habel/Mann) I'm not wild about this, but everyone else likes it. LyricsTune in IIChild of God (Loukes) Elaine's new song is really good and would fit very well with our congregation. While it is still new, may be best to have the congregation sing only the first part, which is the most simple.
VU443 God we pray at this beginning (Redmond) Lovely balanced words to a familiar tune (ABBOT'S LEIGH).
SFFS 2233 This, this is where children belong (Ritchie) A simple song about the inclusion of children in the church. It would be great to sing this at a baptism.
Cha362 Filled with the Joy and Gladness (Merrick) Excellent words for baptism of an infant; quite formal. Sung to the very familiar tune O PERFECT LOVE
Here in this place Infant born of human love (Wiltshire) Simple baptism song for an infant. Suggested tune is CAPETOWN. Free sheet music.

Adult baptismIonaWere I the perfect child of God (Bell) This lovely song to a simple Scottish folk tune talks about taking up the call of Christ in the midst of doubts and fears. "Then sprinkle water on my brow, as in this place I make my vow to own and love my Saviour now and give myself to Jesus". Lyrics (downloads a pdf) Youtube sample.
Cha368 I Come to Be Baptized Today (Adams) Good words and very familiar tune. Would be good if you have a group of people being baptised together. O WALY WALYGtG164 / CP045 Down Galilee's slow roadways
(Dunstan) Good words for adult baptism, or for any Sunday that
reflects on Christ's baptism.

Song for after baptismCha373 Be In Our Midst O Christ (Cartwright) Good for the end of a baptism of some adults, or confirmation, particularly of young adults; it's the same tune as "This is a day of new beginnings" so will be familiar to some congregations.

Presentation of Baptismal Candle:AoV1-053 / AoVK-82Receive The Light of Christ
(Marshall) Simple round "Receive the light of Christ, May (it) shine
within our hears, May the Christ Light fill us with joy and peace". This
could be really wonderful for the congregation to sing when the candles
are being presented at the end of the baptism.TiS 780 May light come into your eyes (Treagus) A simple benediction or blessing for someone leaving, or being baptised.Taizé / MV164 Christe lux mundi (Taize) A slower, and very simple Taize chant. Only works in Latin. Sound samples, sheet music.

TiS 776(ii) / AHB 572 The Lord bless you and keep you (various
tunes, traditional words) The Australian hymn books have two settings
for the Aaronic blessing. I prefer tune (ii) rather than the chant
version. Oldy-but-a-goody.

Iona (Love From Below) The Lord bless you and keep you The
Iona community also have a very nice, but very tricky setting of the
standard Aaronic blessing words. It’s more something you would ask your
choir to sing, if you have one!

CH796The Lord bless you and keep you (Mason) Standard words to a tune by Lowell Mason.

*AoV1-177 / GA441May God Bless and keep you
(Walker) Simple and inclusive Aaronic blessing that has words everyone
can understand. I strongly suggest having a look at this one as an
alternative to the standard Aaronic blessing.

*AoVK-161 / GC(II)577 / G(3)675 May God bless and keep us (Haas) A nice simple and largely inclusive Aaronic blessing set to the familiar tune ADORE TE DEVOTE. Sound sample. Sheet music sample.Good for kids. New words to old tunes.

NCYC07The Lord bless you and keep you / Blessing (Burtenshaw)
A nice new tune for the standard words of the Aaronic blessing. Worth a
look. Will need to be taught to your congregation, but I can see this
being a keeper for more contemporary congregations!

STB080 May the Lord gracious God bless and keep you forever / Yuan quan-neng zhu shang-di (Loh) This is quite lovely, and when sung in two parts would be really special. You would need to teach it, or to have your musicians sing it often until the congregation get to know it; if the person being baptised is from a Mandarin-speaking family, that would be particularly nice.

Multipurpose Blessings (Baptisms, Farewells, Commissionings):VU454 May God who creates you (Skibsted) A lovely blessing for a baptism, or a farewell. Lyrics (downloads a pdf).ATW 494For you deep stillness Mann/Perrin. This homegrown favourite is just excellent. Lyrics and mp3 sample.

BUC Resource May the feet of many walk beside you (Robson) A beautiful, flowing blessing; much loved by our congregation, both for its beauty and for the person who wrote it.

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Index of abbreviations (roughly alphabetical):

AA:Alleluia Aotearoa(New Zealand Hymnbook Trust)A&M: Ancient and Modern (2013 Edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern)AHB: The Australian Hymn Book, published as "With One Voice" in NZ, UK (1977) AoV, AoV2, AoVK, AoVNG:As One Voice, As One Voice 2, As One Voice For Kids and As One Voice The Next GenerationATN, ATA, ATOK, ATE, ATW, ATFG, ATAR:"All Together Now", "All Together Again", "All Together Everybody", "All Together OK", "All Together Whatever", "All Together For Good" and "All Together All Right".CH: Church Hymnary 4 (a.k.a. "Hymns of Glory Songs of Praise")Cha:Chalice HymnalChaP:Chalice PraiseCoC: Carol our ChristmasCP: Common Praise. Anglican (Canada).CP(E): Common Praise. Church of England.ELW: Evangelical Lutheran WorshipFFS: Faith Forever SingingGA:Gather AustraliaG(II) / GC / GC(II) / G(3): Gather 2nd Edition, Gather Comprehensive, Gather Comprehensive 2, Gather 3.GTB: Gospelling to the BeatGtG: Glory to God (sampler of New Presbyterian Hymnal)HiOS: Hope is our Song (NZ Hymbook Trust)HPP:Hymns for a Pilgrim PeopleHPSS / PH: Presbyterian (USA) Hymnal.Iona: Various Songbooks from the Iona communityLau: Laudate (Decani)LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship.MP: Mission PraiseMV: More Voices (United Church of Canada). MfL: Music for Liturgy (from St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, San Francisco)NCH: New Century HymnalPfAS: Psalms for all seasonsSFFS:Sing the Faith/The Faith we SingSiS: Scripture in SongSLW: Sounds of Living WaterSP: Sing Praise, a new book from Hymns Ancient and ModernSP&P: Sing! Prayer and Praise, new bookSrce: The SourceStB: Sound the Bamboo, (Christian Conference of Asia) StF: Singing the Faith (UK Methodist)StJ/StS: Sing the Journey, Sing the StoryTaize: Various Songbooks from the Taize community TiS:Together in SongTOSB: The Other Song BookTune In:A collection of songs from Brunswick Uniting Church (my church!). Songbook available here. UMH: United Methodist HymnalURW: Upper Room WorshipbookVF: Voices FoundVU: Voices UnitedW&R:Worship and RejoiceWoV: With one Voice (Lutheran Book of Worship)ZSS: Zion Still Sings

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About me

I am a small l liberal, small o orthodox, small p progressive, big C Christian laywoman who started voluntarily suggesting songs for her congregation (Brunswick Uniting Church) each week. From that seemingly small task, this website has grown. I still do it entirely on a voluntary basis.
I grew up on a steady diet of Methodist hymn-singing and Scripture in Song. As a teenager I led a youth group and we did the whole Praise and Worship band thing and tried to be like Hillsong. We also had an a capella sextet that sang some pretty awesome African American Gospel. In my 20s, I grew to love Taize, Iona and African song (thanks World Council of Churches), then lived in the USA for 3 years and grew to love American hymnody, Sacred Harp singing, and cantored Psalms.
Congregationally, I like songs that are beautiful, that are intelligent, and that are inclusive. I believe a song doesn't have to be new to fit these criteria. I love songs written by people in my worship community, but I also think it's important to sing songs from other traditions and other countries.
I'd love to hear from you!
My email is: LectionarySinger@gmail.com